Meaning of 列车
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- (railway) train
How to use 列车
列车 is a more formal word for train, common in announcements, tickets, news, and on platforms, while 火车 (huǒchē) is the everyday spoken word. You will often hear it in station broadcasts. Example: 列车即将进站。(Lièchē jíjiāng jìn zhàn.) The train is about to enter the station.
列 (liè) means a row or line, and 车 (chē) means vehicle. A 列车 is a line of cars joined together, which is exactly what a train looks like.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes write 列 as 别 (bié) or 例 (lì) because they look similar. 列 has no 亻 on the left, unlike 例. Also keep the fourth tone in liè and do not say lì.
列车 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
列 liè · to arrange · 6 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
车 chē · car · 4 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Related words
Words that share a character with 列车.
| 开车 | kāichē | to drive a car (or train etc); (slang) to post sexual content online; to make a sexual jok |
| 火车 | huǒchē | train |
| 上车 | shàng chē | to get on or into (a bus, train, car etc) |
| 汽车 | qìchē | car; automobile |
| 下车 | xià chē | to get off or out of (a bus, train, car etc) |
| 车上 | chē shang | |
| 车站 | chēzhàn | rail station; bus stop |
| 车票 | chēpiào | ticket for a bus or train |
| 打车 | dǎchē | to take a taxi (in town); to hitch a lift |
| 停车 | tíngchē | to pull up (stop one's vehicle); to park |
| 出租车 | chūzūchē | taxi; (Tw) rental car |
| 自行车 | zìxíngchē | bicycle; bike |
Questions about 列车
What does 列车 mean?
列车 (lièchē) means "(railway) train" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 列车?
列车 is made of 2 characters: 列 (6 strokes), 车 (4 strokes). That is 10 strokes in total.
Is 列车 an HSK word?
Yes. 列车 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 列车 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 列车 is written 列車.
Should I say 列车 or 火车 in conversation?
In casual speech, 火车 (huǒchē) is more natural, for example 我坐火车去北京. Use 列车 when reading signs, listening to announcements, or writing in a formal style.
Can 列 be used to count trains?
Yes. 列 is also a measure word for trains, as in 一列火车 (yí liè huǒchē), one train. This is the same idea of a row of connected cars.